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Social Status In The Great Gatsby

1543 Words7 Pages

The Prohibition, cigarette holders, drop waist hemlines, and the tunes of jazz. What does each of these things share in common? While separate they are simply just things; together they represent one of the most illustrious decades in America’s history. The Roaring Twenties was a time of leisure and economic stability in the country. As seen in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, as more money was being made, the more individuals splurged whether in their business or in their everyday life.
The social construct of owning many things, having wealth and, therefore, having a high social status became key in the 1920s, and has remained one ever since. Though The Great Gatsby was written nearly 92 years ago, having a prominent social status …show more content…

Status was of the utmost importance and showcasing one’s status became another daily task like brushing one’s hair. While at Tom’s estate, Gatsby begins to pressure Daisy to tell her husband, Tom, she is leaving him. Daisy swiftly suggests the group go into the city. Tom unsettlingly agrees, “All right,’ broke in Tom quickly, ‘I'm perfectly willing to go to town. Come on we’re all going to town.’ He got up, his eyes still flashing between Gatsby and his wife” (119), and offers to rent out a suite in the Plaza Hotel. This grand gesture of simply renting out an expensive room in a luxurious hotel was just one of many instances where characters flaunted their money in order to maintain their social status. Today having the newest technology gadget and most up to date wardrobe staple are key steps for individuals trying to keep up with society’s idea of high class. While fashion then compared to now may be very different, it’s still used to divide the rich and poor. “‘He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall." He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen

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